Tiger's Vengence
by Kounji
Summary: Armored Core Pilot Shina Kobayashi is suddenly reunited with two of her old friends from her academy days but will her sense of duty destroy them. Part Two ,Tensions on the battlefield begin to rise as Kounji and Kai face off againist Shina whom is guard
1. Empathy

Armored Core: Tiger's Vengeance  
Part One: Empathy  
  
  
"30 seconds to drop" An onboard loudspeaker said. Kounji Takagi took in a deep a breath as he prepped for an Armored Core drop into the old Japanese major Metropolitan city known as Tokyo. From what Kounji knew, Tokyo was once a booming city where millions of his people thrived up until the great destruction that is. The city was now majorly flooded with ocean water submerging most of the buildings in the city. All except for the many of the major structures, such has the Japanese Police Organization's HQ and Tokyo Tower. Their mission would involve disrupting a testing operation of a new prototype MT that could supposedly fight underwater as well as out. Chrome had been actively testing new MT designs it could use to quickly insert itself into bases near water. The Demons' requestor Iseko Unlimited had plenty of underwater bases that the MT could affect. Kounji however didn't have too much room to actually think about those details though. The drop in was foremost thing on his mind   
  
Every since he had become an AC mercenary he had never gotten use to being dropped from a drop ship thousands of feet in the air and falling at high speeds towards a ground that held dozens of units gunning for him the whole way. Not surprisingly, It was one of the many things that most pilots found exilerating; Especially Kounji's Coremate Kai Isamo. Kounji could hear how excited she was from the screams and yelling going through their radio connection. "10 seconds to drop" the loudspeaker said.   
  
Kounji took in a deep breath before beginning his core's start up functions. Just as his AC came online he heard the loud screeching of the dropship's rearward ramp opening. "Hey Kai, remember the plan once in the air, vector towards the nearest skyscraper you can get to once we both land go silent." Kounji commanded. "Roger that, I won't loiter too long." Kai replied. "Drop!!!" Kounji yelled.  
  
Kounji pushed his AC in a forward dash off towards the rear of the plane. As he approached the ramp he leapt off and into the breathtaking Tokyo sky. The view of the city below him was wonderful even though the city itself was a bit decimated. He began to quickly pick u speed as he fell towards the Japanese Metropolis. The force of falling towards the earth at his quickening speed was slowly lifting him into the restraints that kept him in his pilot seat. He forced himself to concentrate on looking for a spot to land. After his initial look he wasn't able to spot any buildings tall enough. Then it came to him. A Taller corporate high-rise a little ways out of his optimal landing point was tall enough. Damn, The pilot dropped us off further away from the corporate district than I thought but it does bring us closer to the mission zone but that doesn't help if I smack into the water. He clicked on his boosters and through his throttle in to full power. He looked down towards the high rise building. If I'm going to make this I'm going to need to center myself above the building so can land on, but do I have enough boost to do that. Not like I have much choice do I. Kounji boosted forward towards his building of hope. He watched his hud, as his energy indicator slowly showed his energy level dropping and he still wasn't comfortably over the building. His energy was slowly ticking its way down to zero. His heart suddenly began to beat faster. If his energy ran out he would completely drain out his capacitors and they would have to slowly recharge to full before he could boost again; he would most certainly smack right into the water. Through his goggles, he could see that his core was barely over the corner of the building. With little much else he could do, he clicked his booster off.  
  
The momentum he had created slowly moved him over the building. The building's roof loomed larger and larger in his view. After seeing that is energy capacitors didn't drain completely and had actually recharged, he clicked his boosters back on to slow his fall towards the roof. His AC was still moving faster than Kounji would have liked even with full boost. He braced himself has the AC slammed into the roof its knees bending due to the impact. As he gathered himself and readied his MG-500 machine gun his radio began blazing. "Good to see you've survived the drop rookie, but don't get to carried away there's still a whole mission ahead of you." A female voice said. Kounji took his hand of the core's throttle and slammed his fist on the console of his AC in laughter. "  
Gee, can't you give me a break at least once Mia I almost died." Kounji laughed.   
  
"No way Tiger you get no sympathy from me, you're going to have to prove yourself in this squad before I even start." Mia replied. Kounji sighed before pushing his ac towards the edge of the roof. Suddenly his radio blared again with Mia's voice. "Oh I almost forgot Kai says she's picked up units near the old JPO building, but she'll wait for you because she doesn't want all the credit. Anyway I'll contact you again once the mission is over." She said.   
Kounji took a quick gulp of air before she shifted his unit in the direction of the of the JPO building. The sun's reflection off the windows made the JPO building look like as powerful of structure has it was a century before. "It shouldn't take too long to make it there. I just hope Kai doesn't decide to dominate this assignment or Roc will never let me live this one down." Kounji thought. He pushed his unit's throttle to full and shot off towards the building.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Here's your coffee, Captain Kobayashi." A young lieutenant said.   
"Thanks Lieutenant Jenkins, feel free to join me if you want" replied a tired Shina Kobayashi. She accepted the coffee with an amusing smile on her face and took a seat in an old office chair that was the remnants of the JPO chief's old office. Shina pushed back against the chair and put her booted feet on top of a nearby desk. The young captain sighed into her cup of coffee has she saw her own reflection in it. She took her face away from the steamy cup and glanced over at the lieutenant, his blond hair draping over his blue eyes has he stared into the floor of the office. His face seemed a bit on the lonesome side and he never quite took his eyes away from the same spot.   
"Is something bothering you Jenkins?" Shina asked.   
  
The lieutenant looked up at his Captain a little puzzled after stepping out of his trance. He braced his hands against the wall behind him and laid his back against the wall.  
"I'm alright Captain" He smiled.  
  
Shina stood up from her chair and ran her gloved hand through her shiny black hair. She slowly folded her arms across her chest. "I don't believe that for a moment Jenkins. You've been staring at that floor ever since you got me coffee." She yelled.  
"I've been lost in my thoughts for awhile Captain, just about being here" he said slowly  
  
"Have you been thinking about quitting the Chrome Military, Jenkins?" she replied coldly  
  
The lieutenant shook his head and fished his hand down one of his pockets scrounging for something. After he grabbed on to what he had been searching for he smiled and pulled out an old style photograph.   
"I don't have any problems with the chrome military it's just that I've missed my family, my friends, and my girlfriend Janice. They're all still in Fort Garden while I'm here in Tokyo. And it's just been getting to me ma'am". He sighed with his head down.   
  
"Can I see your picture?" Shina asked smiling  
The lieutenant nodded and handed Shina the photograph rather willingly. Shina began examining the picture her subordinate had given her. It was his him and whom Shina guessed as being his girlfriend Janice next to him in a group photo for his physical education class. The happiness she saw between the two sweethearts in the photo brought a smile to the pilot's face.   
"So do you have anyone you care about back home Captain" Jenkins asked. Shina handed the picture back to her subordinate and began to look down at the floor herself.  
"I'm sorry Captain, I' didn't mean to be insubordinate" he replied.   
Shina looked back up at the pilot and reached her arm out to his shoulder. "No, no I don't have a problem with you asking me about personal stuff it's ok. If we're going to be in the Chrome Special Forces together we're going to need to be honest with each other." She sincerely said.  
Shina turned her back to Jenkins and began to pace around the room a little bit while memories that she had suppressed since a short time ago resurfaced in her head. " Damn you, why no matter what I keep doing to forget you. Something always makes you return." She thought. She finally turned her self back around to face the Lieutenant and spoke. "There was this guy I used to go to the Chrome Mecha School with, awhile back ago. He and I used to compete against each other all the time, you know to be the best in the class. I think out of the 30 people in the class we were the only people who had enough heart for our trade, to work has hard has we did. I'll admit that I worked harder than I ever had just stay on top of him but don't let him know I said that. Anyways I heard from his friend, some girl, I forget her name now, but she told me that he was head over heels for me, for a long time." She said.  
  
Jenkins suddenly burst into laughter. "What why are you laughing. You wanted to know about my love life". Shina asked blushing a bit  
Jenkins calmed down before he looked up from his laughing and noticed Shina's face was a flustered one. "I don't mean to laugh ma'am but I don't get to see you spilling your heart out too often. Makes you seem more like a human being." Jenkins stated.  
Shina put her fist to her hips and stared at her subordinate with a false angered look. "If you like Lieutenant I could go back to bossing you and the other soldiers around and reveal absolutely nothing about my self. Otherwise continue listening." She stated, working to the part.  
The lieutenant nodded and sat down on desk near him.  
"Anyways moving back to my story, Kounji, this being his name, and I ,dated quite a few times. We kissed, hugged, and fooled around for about a year and half together. That was back when I lived in Fort Garden. It was probably the best year and a half of my entire life." She said smiling. Shina wiped her eyes a bit has her happiness began to bring tears from her eyes. She then picked up her cold cup of coffee and finally began to take sips out of it. Very long sips  
  
"So what went wrong Captain?" Jenkins asked sheepishly  
As Shina took her lips away from the coffee mug to answer, her once dormant radio suddenly began to squawk into her hip. She pulled the clipped on radio off her belt, and held it close to her ear so she could make sense of the squawks. " Repeat, Sacred Weasel, do you copy?" The voice said.  
  
Shina held the radio up to her lips and clicked the speaker button on. "I copy Wicked Owl" she replied.  
"An unidentified AC has just penetrated the outer perimeter. I hate to interrupt your site seeing tour but we're going to need you at camp ops on the double. Oh and bring your Cores." The communication officer stated.  
  
"Roger That" Shina sighed. The pilot clipped the radio back to her belt and looked back at the lieutenant who was now back on his feet  
  
"I guess it's true that the enemy strikes at the most inopportune times" he smirked.  
The two of them darted out the door of the office and down the hallway towards a stairway access at the end of the hallway and ran up the flights of the stairs with Shina in the lead and Jenkins not far behind her. When Shina reached the roof of the building, she immediately took off towards her core that was on the left side of the roof and a tired Jenkins ran towards his unit on the side. As Shina and Jenkins entered, their cores through their side hatches Shina could not help but to think about him. "I wonder what you're doing while I'm having all this fun?" she asked herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Two, Helicopter Mt's parked on top of the far building out there, A couple of sentry guns protecting that make shift sea entrance into the JPO building. No heavy Mt's or AC's yet. Still haven't spotted anything out of the ordinary. This looks like a piece of cake so far. Who needs Kounji?" An energetic Kai Isamo said to herself. Kai recycled her HD- One's zooming scope back to it's normal resolution and began checking through her weapon systems. Her unit the Kentaro consisted off a now aging boxy electronic activity core with An-25 arms with box-like biceps and forearms, and shoulders that looked like miniature wings. The core rested on LN-1001B medium capacity legs with knees the stuck out like spikes. After switching through and checking that her FCS and shoulder mounted radar survived the drop into the metropolis, Kai felt it was time to get to work.   
  
  
Kai set her sights to the nearest roof top from her position and flew towards it boosters flaring. Her boosters whined as the neared closer and closer to the building. When she had cleared safely over the edge she shut them off and her core shot hot sparks as it's feet skidded across the concrete. " I'm sorry Kentaro" Kai whispered to her machine. Suddenly her radar peeped has it picked up two units not coming from in front of her but from her right. " Crap how did I miss these guys. She yelled, beating her feet against her rotation pedals. The two units that she missed were identified by her apparently awake radar as chrome sentry helicopters. "These are those helos that don't have high heat signatures" Kai thought.   
  
  
Shortly after Kai finished her thought. Both of the units were quick in firing a barrage of easily half a dozen missiles beaming directly on Kai. The screaming pack of missiles narrowed closer and closer on Kai and in a matter of moments was easily close to the roof her unit rested on. The experienced AC pilot's reflexes kicked in and she boosted to her right taking the missiles in that same direction with her. When they were almost directly on her she quickly pushed to the left and shot forward, her boosters in full blaze has the missiles ignored her and scattered past the building. Enraged that she didn't get the first shot Kai acquired locking solutions with her missile launcher on both the helicopters and let loose a small barrage of her own. Her missiles shot off from their launchers, streaked towards their targets, and due to the helicopter's lack of maneuverability, connected with them with near perfect accuracy. As the wreckage of the two helos twinkled towards the water, she leapt off of her perch and towards and an old highway overpass that headed close but not too close to the enemy testing camp.   
  
She knew with the destruction of those sentry helicopters that her existence was surely known by now so with not much hesitation she ripped over the overpass as fast as her booster would allow her. "They know I'm here ,but boy if they knew how much trouble I was going to cause them." She thought aloud. She suddenly picked up the presence of two units coming from the direction of the JPO building. " Most likely the helicopters I spotted earlier" she hummed. She hope the cover of buildings nearby would help mask the helicopters from being able to get early shots at her. Her gamble had worked thus far. Her luck suddenly ended has soon has the overpass did. Twisted metal from the foundation of the concrete road were all that were left from the once complete highway. Beyond the broken over pass was the temporary  
" Shoot, The base is still too far away and I can't possibly fly over there there's no cover. Those machine gun sentry cannon's will eat me alive. If I only I had Kounji's wannabe Karasawa rifle, then I wouldn't have to worry about those cannons. " She complained.  
  
Suddenly she read the two units getting closer and closer to her core as they were right on top her. Kai turned Kentaro to face them. "Come on I can handle two stinking choppers." She yelled. As the units came from above, Kai expected to hear the loud rotors of helicopters to over fly her. Much to her surprise she heard the noise of a mechs joints pulling and contracting has they leapt. "Shit if those units are both AC's I'm toast." she yelled flicking back her shiny black hair.   
  
As if on cue, two mechs leapt up on the rooftop of a building close to the overpass on Kai's right. Kai turned to face the two units, staring at her enemy with wavering confidence. One of them was medium and boasted urban camouflaged. Kai suddenly began to receive an incoming message. Her mind told her immediately it probably wasn't Kounji.   
  
"Raven, This is Captain Kobayashi of the Chrome Military, You are to stand down for destroying Chrome Property otherwise we will be forced to take you down with lethal force." The voice of a female officer said. Kai scratched her head feeling slightly puzzled. The officer's voice as well as name struck the mercenary as very familiar. Moments later it finally clicked. "No, it can't be her. That spoiled brat Shina... Kobayashi." She yelled.   
  
"On the contrary, Kai last time I checked you were the spoiled one, So spoiled by your parents and friends you couldn't even cut it to be in the Chrome Military." Shina replied insolently.   
  
Kai beat her fist against the console before her.   
"The path you've chosen Kai, has no future. Surrender now, so that you might face lighter prosecution. " Shina shrieked at Kai.   
  
One of the mecha, which Kai guessed was Shina's, locked on to Kai's mech and pointed it's machine gun dead center on Kai's AC. The mecha next to it followed suit and raised its shotgun against Kai. Kai smiled before raising Shina on her radio. "Do you think any future will come from a corporation that seeks to control the people of our subterranean civilization? Do you think being a Captain in a military run by war crazed psychos will get you any where?" Kai asked solemnly. She could hear the vigilant voice of Shina's wavering a bit.  
  
Kai grinned knowing that she had trampled over Shina's attitude but she knew one thing for sure; there was no avoiding a fight with Kobayashi now. "A two on one is not going to be in my best interest, but seeing I had to be impatient about the whole thing... " She thought to herself. Kai suddenly heard a scream coming over her radio. "I have had enough of your bs Isamo you're going down.   
  
Suddenly the leader AC flew ahead, boosters in full blaze, towards Kai. The machine gun from Shina's AC sprayed red hot bullets at an incredible rate at Kai's unit. Before Kai could react the first volley of bullets lanced toward her machine  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Know when to Quit

Authors Note: From Software and Agetec own Armored Core and Armored Core 2 but none of the characters in this story.  
Authors Note: Sorry for not updating this story any sooner I had writer's block. Well, anyways on with part two of Tiger's Vengeance  
  
  
Part Two: Know when to quit  
  
  
"Looks like the party's already started" Kounji yelled with a sense of disapproval.   
  
He was referring to the explosions and gunfire burst he could here off in the distance from his position within the city. The experience pilot zipped his yellow and black stripped AC "Tiger" from building to building has he came in from the direction perpendicular to Kai's route. He neared closer and closer to a submerged area with practically no skyscrapers near it. The site perfectly began to fit the target area that was described in the briefing that his operation runner, Mia, and the Demons leader Vance Kurasagi led him and Kai through earlier. Kounji seeing that his energy capacitors were beginning to run out he bobbed his AC up and over a nearby building and slid to a stop has he touched down on its roof. From there, he let his energy charge up and continued his flight over the buildings. After a few more seconds, he touched down on the first building in the mission area.   
  
As his mission plan instructed him to, he clicked on his communiqué device and tried to contact Kai. "Mouse, this is Tiger come in" Kounji spoke.  
  
"Mouse, this is Tiger repeat do you read"   
  
Kounji suddenly began to grow worried. His core's computer suddenly began to speak to him.  
  
"Enemy has commenced jamming. Communication between us and the Kentaro is impossible," it said  
  
"Crap, Kai must have been discovered, until I can find the jamming source she's on her own." he thought to himself. He glanced around the surrounding area looking for anything particularly of his mission's interest. As he surveyed the area for several moments, he slowly began to focus his search towards the water. Suddenly directly, between Kounji's perch and the JPO building, the floodwaters suddenly became full with ripples. Kounji blinked as a strange grayish boat that looked much like a fat ice cream bar emerged from the water causing small waves as it headed off towards its home base.  
  
"So, there's our boy right on time, it's probably going to be evacuated within fifteen minutes. If we're going to hit the target I have to get it now, with or without Kai." He spoke to himself.  
As much as he was angry with Kai he knew that she was headstrong when it came to some things and she had to get the job done her own way. He clicked a button on his console, making his external camera follow zoom in closer on the unit. From this view he could noticed a few letter and number markings on its side. "UIX-4001" it read along it's starboard side. As the unit began to near an entrance ramp to the base Kounji zoomed outward to get a look at the surrounding area. Not to his surprise, he found several twin-barreled sentry guns lined up along the entrance ramp.  
  
" Four sentry guns lined up around this entrance ramp here, guess Kai saw that, and this is probably why she didn't go any further. These probably could have ripped her core to pieces," Kounji thought aloud  
  
Kounji looked downward towards the emerging vehicle. It 's rear suddenly dipped into the water bringing the front of the vehicle to point straight in the sky. As he looked on a sphere like objected suddenly sprang on top of the vehicles top. Seconds later arms came from its underbelly has well. The supposed boat continued to move towards the ramp. Suddenly the growing worries within Kounji's head began to bloom. The unit came from the water trudging along the ramp with its artificial legs. Water poured from the unit profusely onto the grated walkway as clanked across it. Kounji's hands gripped on to his controls in fear.   
  
"Chrome, has the ability to create MTs that are capable of changing in to a bipedal mecha, and can also submerge itself underwater. No one is supposed to have this kind of technology." Kounji yelled.   
  
Suddenly while Kounji was focused on the unit's movement, a buzz crackled causing him to grip his sensitive ears. After a few moments the channel cleared.  
  
"Communications jamming has ceased, attempting to contact Allied unit Kentaro" the rough voice of his computer stated. Kounji grinned and waited as his computer ran through it's contacting of his coremate. A confirming beep sounded from his comp and he saw the face of distraught and sweating Kai staring back at him.  
  
"It's about time boy scout, I've been trying to contact you forever" Kai yelled.  
"Yeah, I've had jamming problems Kai, and from the look of all that sweat on that cute face of yours, you've had some of your own trouble as well."  
  
The young female pilot cringed her face at Kounji in mild anger.  
"Tell me about it, two armored cores. I just disabled one but an old friend of ours is piloting the other. I don't think I can hold out much longer."  
  
"Old friend?"  
  
"Yeah" Kai said cringing. "Your ex-girlfriend, Shina Kobayashi"  
  
Suddenly Kounji's heart rate began to pick up drastically. His most-beloved rival in the Fortgarden MT Academy had just become his only obstacle keeping him from completing his mission.  
  
"Hang on Kai, I can be there in less than two minutes"  
  
"Hurry Kounji... Damn it she's too good she just dodged that entire volley. Missiles incoming.... It's going to be close... Ahhh." Kai screamed  
  
  
"Kai!!!" Kounji yelled.  
  
The pilot quickly spun his mecha of into the direction of the explosion he heard and boosted off as fast has his generator would allow him. As he cut through the air like a bat out of hell, completing the mission was the last thing on his mind. The survival of his friend Kai was all he could even care about.  
  
"Mia, Unit Kentaro is down, we're aborting.   
  
"Roger that Tiger, I'm sending the request for your pick up immediately.  
  
"My pickup but what about Kai?"  
  
"Her area's too hot with activity right now we can't endanger the dropship pilots' lives."  
"Don't worry I'll have that freaking area clear, I'm not leaving my best friend behind goddamn it". Kounji yelled.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kai gripped the side of her rib cage that was in agony with her right hand. An explosion to the front of her core had caused pieces of metal to become dislodged from the cockpit's interior and explode wildly outward. One of which Kai was sure of by the pain in her side hit her but blood trickling from her forehead made her begin to think more damage had been sustained. She squinted due to pain while she looked through her HUD goggles at the opponent who wounded her. All of the actual features that appeared in the HUD were no longer there. Kai's AC lay sitting near the edge of the broken overpass overlooking the temporary base. Its left arm was destroyed, right arm full of MG 500 rounds and its core cracked, as it remained motionless on the old demolished highway.  
  
  
"I can't tell you how fitting it is to see you in your place Isamo." Shina mocked in a darkened tone.  
  
"Shina you demented bitch do you want me to die?" Kai cried out before she gasped and gripped her side. Her white gloves with its red stripes suddenly grew stained with her precious blood.   
  
"I didn't want you get hurt like you are now, but you gave me no choice it's my duty to protect the new unit and this base. Mercenaries like you could learn a lesson or two about being dutiful through chrome. It would have been smarter for you to have stayed a tech and never have gotten involved." Shina lectured coldly.  
  
"What's it worth being dutiful to a corporation that seeks nothing less than complete domination of the underground world. You had to give up your friends, Kounji, even your damn parents. You would have been better off being an officer in the damn Guard." Kai shrieked gasping for air and gritting her teeth.   
  
"I do what I can here to make a difference in the lives of the people in the underground cities. If I have to give up all of those people who I care about to do then it's worth it in my book. If the soldiers who fight above ground have to die because of it then so be it. They knew the cost and so did you." Shina yelled back.  
  
  
"Why waste your sense of justice on an evil corporation who will only push its ideals on the populace when it achieves its ends. If you were a mercenary like me you could dare to have a choice, dare to look at the war at all angles, dare to have something beyond Chrome." Kai spoke in an honest tone.  
  
  
"Shut up, shut up, shut up" Shina shrieked  
  
  
The angered Kobayashi raised and pointed her unit's machine gun towards Kai's decimated AC.   
"Chrome and the special forces are all I need in my life. I don't need someone who I thought would appreciate the sacrifices I've made in my life telling me that I've wasted it on something I feel is worth believing in. I don't need you or him." Shina yelled breaking down into tears.   
  
"Chrome doesn't need you Shina, Chrome only took advantage of your sense of duty they never gave a damn about the real Shina, at least when you're a mercenary you know that truth." Kai spoke with rasp in her diminishing voice.  
  
Shina was infuriated by Kai's remarks. The simple fact that this girl, which she only knew through her lover, claimed her superiors did not give damn about the people under them, only themselves, was as preposterous has it was biased. Besides what did it matter the higher up rarely had too much contact with the grunts anyways. Still Chrome's agenda did bug her a great deal. As Shina's adrenaline began to filter out of her body an overwhelming guilt began to flood her system. Her attention focused on a rattle within her pilot seat; she had developed a nervous twitch in her leg that caused her feet to tap the grated metal under her. It was as if she suddenly had killed someone in cold blood for the first time all over again. Except this time it was a friend of hers. "Why" she screamed.   
  
"Repeat, Sacred Weasel do you read?" a voice crackled in her radio.   
  
Shina, with her teary brown eyes and distraught voice, attempted to bring her self together before she could make reply. She was so out of situation, so out of self-control that ops first request didn't even remotely register in her senses.  
  
"I copy, Hostile target neutralized" she spoke.  
  
"We copy that, however we have detected a incoming high heat source rapidly approaching your position."  
  
"What?" Shina gasped to herself. The pilot pulled her tear drenched goggles from around her head and threw them to the floor in anger. The thought of fighting another AC after that escapade seemed an impossible task. She rested with the idea of calling for MT support but something pushed her from making the order, a premonition. " If Kai was here and she brought a partner with her, could it be..." she thought. Suddenly the idea of living to face Kounji with what she had done made her feel nauseous; it was far too overwhelming for the pilot  
  
"Sacred Weasel, your unit looks to have taken a bit of damage. Do you require MT support?"  
"MT support is not required I can handle him. Continue evacuation procedures and get yourselves out of here." Shina replied yelling.   
  
As the enemy ac's blip in her radar came closer and closer to her and the flume created by the AC's booster grew brighter, she hoped her nightmarish milk run wouldn't turn any worse but things seldom did not.  
  
  
  
"Get out of my way " Kounji grunted at three hovering MT's he quickly approached. He acquired a lock on the center MT within the triangular formation and fired his laser rifle dead center into the unit, exploding it into a burning fiery melting wreck. The other enemy units returned fire but there shots flew off to the side of the approaching mecha as it let off its boosters allowing it to freefall before it touched a building underneath. Shots smacked into the buildings roof as she jinked to the left of the unit and returned fire at the unit hitting the left most tiny flying units underbelly, causing its generator to explode. It's partner's fire managed to smack in to Kounji's leg arm causing its armor to bend inward slightly but not enough to make the enraged pilot flinch. Kounji reacted by releasing his units thin cyan radiating energy blade from its casings inside of his left arm and splitting the enemy unit down the middle. As the unit exploded and he touched ground again he took off into an energy-regaining run and boosted off towards a not too distant Shina. Kounji found it difficult to control his anger as he neared toward the enemy unit with his vastly increasing speed. He kept going fearing the worst could have possibly just happened to his old friend. "Kai, please hang in there, I'm coming for you." Kounji spoke aloud. He closed nearer and nearer to the unit of Shina, the unit of his former love.   
  
He finally came within locking range of Shina's urban humanoid core with his laser rifle held outward and aimed directly at its chest. His trigger finger shook nervously as he achieved full lock. "Why did you have to hurt Kai, Shina? Why?" Kounji screamed at his once beloved. For the next few seconds there was silence. Kounji touched his core down on one of the tall buildings. He was close enough to finally make out the situation. Two-disabled cores, one that had taken a moderate amount of damaged, lay behind Shina. The other laid tattered, its arms broken, core cracked, by the highway's edge. From he could gather, Kai managed to disable the AC of Shina's partner but could not hold up against the superior skills of Shina.  
  
"Kill me" Shina pleaded distraughtly  
"What?" Kounji asked irritated and stunned  
  
"Kill me, Kounji I broke our friendly vow. If we were to ever meet in battle we would not kill each other unless the cause was just enough. Kill me, kill me now, I don't want to live in this life with her death on my hands. I just don't deserve to live," She pleaded  
  
Kounji continued his press onto the highway, still maintaining his lock while he maneuvered in a circle keeping a close position away from her. He gripped his control stick tighter to keep his trigger finger from tapping the trigger, but it didn't work too much. He squinted his eyes at the incessant headache and screamed because his mixed emotions for Shina and for Kai, for revenge and for understanding brought him to the edge. Disturbed and running low on energy he touched down on asphalt his back turned to Shina and his unit's feet next to the wreckage of Kai's unit. His computer suddenly reacted with bio readings that began to scroll across the HUD of his core's internal computer.  
  
""Bio scanner detects a faint a bio signal resonating from AC Kentaro. Readings are fading" The computer lifelessly read.  
  
He began to grow a little optimistic about the situation, but the realist in him knew it was too soon to be content. His radar began to beep as another object began to approach the scene. It read as blue on his radar which indicated it was high above. "Salvation" Kounji sighed. With the chance of Kai's survival quickly rising, Kounji began to feel less and less inclined to fulfill Shina's wish; Her plea for her very own death.   
  
"Revenge by death wasn't in the vow." Kounji smirked.  
  
"But why?" Shina cried.  
  
Kounji raised his rifle has he rotated his core back towards her. His aim rested on the head of Shina's core. He pulled the trigger. Quickly the blue light that erupted from the gun smashed right through the unit's gray visor and out the back end of head. A miniature explosion erupted within the end signifying the end of the core's eyes and ears to the world. The blast's force knocked the enemy unit backwards. It quickly lost its balance and collapsed on its back.  
  
"Shina, I don't want to kill you but I still can't forgive you right now." Kounji explained in softened tone.   
Kounji moved his unit's head so that he could view the incoming aircraft coming to receive him and his wounded partner. In is mind he felt he convinced himself that he had done the right thing not killing Shina. Suddenly another radar bleep entered on his screen. Kounji's computer tagged as the mission objective, the prototype MT. It was incoming.   
  
"Salvation, this is Tiger, pick-up area secure." He said sternly.  
  
"Roger, that tiger we're almost there, ETA 30 seconds". The pilot replied  
  
"Got it, please hurry I don't want to lose, Kai" Kounji replied, his voice slowly beginning to crack up.  
  
"Roger that, Kid"  
  
  
  
Shina wiped her teary eyes with her black flight gloves has she came to. She suddenly came to realization that she hadn't been killed. "Why". She asked to herself.   
Shina released the straps that held her into the pilot seat and climbed off, her feet clanking has she touched the slightly inverted cockpit floor. The pilot had managed to obtain only a bruise on her shoulder from the sudden jolt her unit received to its head that laid it out on the road. She felt a tiny sting has she rubbed the purple skin. In a way she was glad Kounji hadn't killed her with that blast but still she wasn't happy to lose him again or his trust for that matter. She feared she probably would never regain it, his or Kai's. Through the confines of the metal cockpit she resided in she could here the sounds of a plane engines whining as they warmed for takeoff before takeoff. She stepped up to the cockpit's opening crouched. She prepared herself for the cold breeze that the sea outside would bring as she popped the hatch. A gust of wind came through the doorway has Shina locked her squinting eyes on the plane, as it finished powering up it's engines. She took a slender gray tool from her tool belt and attached a hook from its end to hook on top of her unit's doorway. She clicked a button on the hilt on the butt of the tool and a cable unraveled from the top allowing her to descend from her core. The moment she touched the ground took off into a sprint towards the plane. From the open hatch of the plane she could make out Kounji's unit unleashing energy beams off at something. Gasping for air has she ran, her foot hit a piece of concrete causing Shina to slam into the ground skidding. She grunted and pulled herself up on to her knees in anguish. She looked off in the direction Kounji was firing and saw the booming mecha that was the UIX on a buildings roof to her right.   
  
The craft flickered its outer lights before it pulled up into hover above the ground shooting dusk and particles in every direction. Shina failed to cover her face from anything that came her way. She wanted to see her friends has they left her life once again. She wanted to see the flight of her only love. Kounji continued the trade fire with the unit has the plane pulled away. The airplane climbed away from the scene and off into welcoming blue sky.  
  
"That was him wasn't it" Jenkins, who was behind her, asked   
  
Shina stood up and turned to face her lightly wounded partner and forcefully smiled.  
  
"That was him" Shina, replied beginning to tear up again.  
  
She looked up towards the UIX it's broad arms and menacing chest plate and height wasn't has comforting to look at has it was in the bases hangar bay. "Damn you, you blasted machine" she shrieked.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Oh my, well it's been quite awhile since the last update for this story.  
  
Linay- so, it seems that old Boy scout's love for the Captain is what kept her alive but are we going to be able to say the same for Kai. Will the menacing UIX unit be the weapon that meaning military superiority for Chrome finally. Will I even appear in this mini- series? Find out in the next chapter of Armored Core: Tiger's Vengeance  
  
  
  
  



End file.
